Gambhir likely to miss Windies tour

Gautam Gambhir, who was appointed the skipper of the Indian side for the ODIs against West Indies after MS Dhoni decided to opt out, is likely to miss the series which begins on June 4.

Gambhir, who has been captaining the The Kolkata Knight Riders side, is apparently having problems with his shoulders after injuring it during the World Cup final against Sri Lanka.

According to the Knight Riders physio Andrew Leipus, who wrote a letter to the BCCI, Gambhir has been suffering from a sore shoulder throughout the 4th season of the IPL.

Leipus in his letter, mentioned: "His (Gambhir's) initial complaints were pain in the shoulder and significant reduction of power in his throw. The clinical findings supported the mechanism of the onset of the acute injury, however, he did report having corticosteroid injections on two occasions over the previous few years."

"In the last match where KKR played MI, Gautam again felt an aggravation of the shoulder pain on one particular throw. On arrival in Mumbai we thought it was prudent to get both an MRI and a consultation with a leading Shoulder Orthopaedic Surgeon. Both the Doctor and myself believe that he should follow an intensive, supervised and conservative rehabilitation pathway. But for the best outcome, he will need to avoid both throwing and batting for a period 4-6 weeks. In this regard I would expect that the BCCI medical committee would need to consider the ongoing management of Gautam's shoulder injury beyond the IPL and the possibility of his missing any immediate future tours until the shoulder is fully rehabilitated," the letter stated.

With Gambhir being advised rest for 6 weeks, India will have to find another replacement for the opening slot with Virender Sehwag already out of the Windies series. If Gambhir opts out of the Caribbean tour, Suresh Raina, who was appointed as the vice-captain for the ODIs, might take over as the skipper.